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Dev Patel's directorial debut Monkey Man premiered on March 11, 2024, at SXSW and was eventually released in North American theatres on April 5. The action-thriller, starring the Slumdog Millionaire star, was expected to be released in India on April 19, but was reportedly delayed due to its mature themes conflicting with India's censorship rules.
Monkey Man received rave reviews upon its release with many fans comparing it to the John Wick films. However, fans in India have yet to experience the highly-anticipated revenge drama from Patel. The film's release has unfortunately been delayed indefinitely with no confirmed date.
Monkey Man's release delayed in India due to its mature themes
After countless challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, budget issues, a broken hand, and being dropped by Netflix, Dev Patel's Monkey Man faces yet another uphill battle in the form of India's Central Board of Film Certification.
According to reports by multiple media outlets, Monkey Man's violent, religious, and political undertones have been flagged as major issues by the CBFC. The Board, which assigns a rating or certificate to films prior to their release, is notorious for its censorship.
Besides providing certifications, the Board can suggest filmmakers to make edits to their films regarding mature or sensitive content.
However, in many cases, the CBFC can also make cuts to the films themselves or even refuse to give a rating to a movie, making it impossible to release it in the country. Recent examples include 2017's Toofan Singh and 2024's Political War, which were denied certifications by the CBFC due to their political nature.
The US rating body, MPA, gave the film an ‘R’ rating for "strong bloody violence throughout, r*pe, language throughout, s*xual content/n*dity and drug use." Such depictions may have caused the revenge drama to stumble against the boundaries set by the Indian Board.
One eagle-eyed netizen took to X on March 23, 2024, to point out a major difference between the two trailers released for Monkey Man. In the first trailer, the color of the fictional political party is depicted as orange.
However, the second trailer had edited those colors and changed them to red. This led to speculations that the change had been implemented due to potential outrage against the film by the Indian audience and the government.
It was soon after this revelation that Monkey Man's India release was reported to be delayed. Universal Pictures India made a social media post that the film would arrive "in cinemas soon" but did not provide a specific date.
An April 2024 article by The Wrap suggested that the film's "political undertones may have spooked the streamer."
Meanwhile, Indian outlet Bollywood Hungama mentioned a source in a March article who reportedly revealed:
"The film has excessive violence and there are fears that some of its aspects might hurt the sentiments of the section of the audience. Hence, the Censor process is expected to take time... Also, the Universal Studios team in the USA also needs to permit the changes asked by the CBFC. Once they approve, the local team will carry out the changes and only then, the team will announce the release date."
However, it is to be noted that neither Universal Studios nor the Central Board of Film Certification have made any public statements regarding the delay.
What is Monkey Man about?
Directed by and starring Academy Award nominee Dev Patel, Monkey Man is a tale of revenge set in a world ravaged by power and corruption. IMDb provides a synopsis for the film:
"An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor and powerless."
Monkey Man was released by Universal Pictures in the US and Canada on April 5, 2024, to positive reviews. It has no release date set for India at the time of writing this article.
